Written questions by Whittome.

What estimate he has made of the number and proportion of the solar panels to be installed on new homes that will be manufactured in the UK; and what steps his Department is taking to support the domestic manufacture of solar (a) panels and (b) batteries.

Though the UK will likely require solar panel imports in the short to medium term, several firms are involved in assembling panels and manufacturing innovative solar, such as thin film. The recently published Solar Roadmap sets out actions for maximising opportunities arising from commercialisation of innovative solar technologies and upscaling production of balance of system components. As laid out in the recent Industrial Strategy's Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, Batteries is a frontier sector. We will invest £452m in support of Battery Innovation to compete in a challenging global marketplace and meet domestic demand across the supply chain.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 June to Question 56822 on Israel: Military Aid, whether he has made an assessment of the risk of Ministry of Defence training to Israel Defense Forces personnel (a) facilitating and (b) contributing towards violations of international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Fewer than five IDF personnel are currently enrolled in non-combat military academic courses in the UK. The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world. The Ministry of Defence’s provision of such assistance is assessed carefully on a case-by-case basis. UK training courses promote British values, including human rights, democracy and compliance with international humanitarian law.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that the Israeli Government has transferred weapons to armed militias operating in Gaza.

We are concerned at reports of armed militias operating in Gaza. We have been clear from the beginning of this conflict that we need to see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of all hostages and a pathway to a lasting peace. We believe that the Palestinian Authority's role in Gaza must be front and centre and are supporting the Palestinian Authority Security Forces with the goal that they will play a key role in the security of Gaza in the future.One of our first acts in government was to review and suspend export licences that could be used by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza. We have kept all licences under careful and continual review against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. This includes assessing the risk of diversion.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to support accountability for breaches of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

We have consistently called on all parties to comply with international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We have been clear that we respect the independence of the international courts who are currently considering cases concerning international law in the OPTs. The UK participated in the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion on Israel's obligations as an Occupying Power and as a member of the United Nations, putting forward strong support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the International Committee of the Red Cross. In relation to the conflict in Gaza, we have called for independent investigations into incidents where there are reports of breaches of international humanitarian law and accountability for those found responsible, including at the UN Security Council. In relation to the West Bank, we have a clear position that Israeli settlements in the OPTs are illegal under international law and have taken action to sanction violent settlers and individuals who incite violence against Palestinians.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations on artists.

The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that the provision of single-sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex. Service providers and those delivering public functions should note and follow the ruling. It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need within the ruling. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), as Britain’s Equalities watchdog, is developing updated guidance to support service providers and is currently consulting on its code of practice for services, public functions and associations. This consultation will close on 30 June 2025. The Government is considering the implications of the Supreme Court's judgment.

What information her Department holds on the number of care workers from overseas who (a) lost their employment after their employer has their licence to sponsor international staff suspended and (b) (i) left the UK and (ii) found employment after (A) extending their visa and (B) finding a new sponsor.

The requested information is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing free homecare.

Local authorities (LAs) have the power to charge for care, and it is for them to decide whether to do so. Two LAs in England currently offer free home care to their residents.Where LAs do choose to charge for care, they must do so in accordance with the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, and they must act under the Care and Support Statutory guidance.We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.The commission, which began work in April 2025, will be comprehensive and will build on the expert proposals of other reviews, including that of Sir Andrew Dilnot into care funding and support. It will be broader and wider than ever before, asking essential questions about the shape and future of the social care sector, including what long-term and sustainable funding solutions should look like.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the UN in relation to comments by the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council on 22 May 2025 on the (a) Supreme Court judgement in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers and (b) interim guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment, published on 25 April 2025.

There have been no discussions with the UN in relation to the Human Rights Council Special Procedures news release on 22 May 2025.

With reference to her Department’s research entitled Understanding asylum seeker and refugee vulnerabilities and needs (2022), published on 22 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of its findings for her policies on (a) asylum seeker safeguarding and (b) enforcement culture in her Department.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under review, taking into account a wide range of research and evidence, as well as consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders.

With reference to the paper entitled Understanding asylum seeker and asylum-route refugee vulnerabilities, needs, and support (2022), published on 22 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implication for her policies of the statement in that paper's Executive Summary that there is widespread evidence that the asylum system exacerbates and creates, rather than alleviates, vulnerabilities for people seeking asylum.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under review, taking into account a wide range of research and evidence, as well as consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders.

What progress his Department has made in implementing the NHS Accessible Information Standard.

Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including deaf people.NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision. A self-assessment framework has been developed to support providers of NHS and social care services to measure their performance against the AIS, and to develop improvement action plans to address gaps in implementation.A revised AIS will be published in due course. In the meantime, the current AIS remains in force, and therefore there should be no gap in provision for people using services. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication, and engagement, and with a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using services.

What assessment he has made of the merits of continuing opt-out testing of Hepatitis (a) B and (b) C in Nottingham University Hospitals’ Emergency Department.

The emergency department opt-out testing programme will continue to test individuals for bloodborne viruses, including HIV and viral hepatitis, in line with committed funding plans. The Government is committed to reducing the incidence of viral hepatitis, including by reducing the number of people living with the condition without a diagnosis. NHS England is currently reviewing its budgetary position, with a view to determining whether funding can be made available to extend the provision of opt out testing for viral hepatitis, particularly for those sites whose committed funding will end during 2025. This includes the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and therefore NHS England is engaged in discussions with the trust on this important programme.

What steps her Department is taking to improve safety for (a) pedestrians, (b) cyclists, and (c) other road users, in the context of the increase in the use of electric bikes and scooters.

The Government understands that perceived safety can be a barrier to more people choosing to walk, wheel or cycle. This is why the Department has recently announced almost £300 million of funding for active travel in 2024/5 and 2025/6. While it is for local authorities to make decisions on investment in their active travel networks, Active Travel England works with officers to help support compliance with best practice when delivering walking, wheeling and cycling schemes. Additionally, The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve the safety of all road users, particularly the most vulnerable. Key changes included the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, along with the strengthening of guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking cyclists and horse-riders. No policy decisions on micromobility or e-scooter regulations have yet been made. The Department will consult on any new proposed regulations before they come into force. Until changes are made, private e-scooters remain illegal to use on public roads, cycle lanes and pavements and rental e-scooters can only be used as part of the Government’s rental e-scooter trials. Enforcement is a matter for the police. The government is making our streets safer, by introducing new cycling offences to tackle those rare instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cyclist behaviour. This will ensure that all road users, whose behaviour results in the death or serious injury of another road user will face the same penalties.

With reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, whether the proposed increase in the standard qualifying period for permanent residence from five to ten years will apply only to newly-arrived migrants.

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on children.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Nottingham East to the answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49523.

What steps she is taking to ensure that (a) creditors and (b) debt collection agencies (i) respond to customer enquiries and (ii) amend credit files in a timely manner.

Consumer credit lenders and debt collection agencies are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and must comply with its rules. Under the FCA’s Consumer Duty, providing effective customer support is a key requirement. Regulated firms must provide customer support that is prompt, accessible, and easy to understand. The FCA also expects firms to regularly review and improve their customer support processes. In accordance with data protection laws, a person’s credit file must accurately reflect their credit history. If a consumer thinks their credit record is inaccurate, then they should first contact their lender or the relevant reference agency (CRA) and ask them to update their details. If a consumer believes these organisations have not corrected the inaccurate information they have reported, they can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO enforces data protection laws and may take action if it finds the CRA has failed to make necessary corrections.

With reference to the Written Statement of 5 December 2024 on Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, HCWS285 and the Chapter on An NHs Fit for the Future, if he will publish plans to reduce waiting times for mental health services.

Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan, with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.The Government is delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. We have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity.We are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting time metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication, to help services target the longest waits.

What steps he is taking to ensure that people living in Nottingham East constituency have access to NHS dentistry when they need it.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Nottingham East constituency, this is the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB. ICBs have been asked to start making extra urgent dental appointments available from April 2025. The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB is expected to deliver 24,360 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.ICBs have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. As of 10 April 2025, in England, there are 53 dentists in post with a further 44 dentists who have been recruited but are yet to start in post. Another 256 posts are currently advertised.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease have access to (a) appropriate information, (b) treatment options and (c) a multidisciplinary care team.

There are 27 specialised neurological treatment centres across the National Health Service in England, which provide access to neurological multidisciplinary teams to ensure that patients with Parkinson’s disease can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.Most services for long-term conditions are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs), including for Parkinson’s. It is the responsibility of ICBs, working with clinicians, service users, and patient groups, to develop local services and care pathways that are convenient and that meet patients’ needs.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of long-term conditions for use by healthcare professionals and commissioners. The NICE published Parkinson’s disease in adults guidance in July 2017, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71/chapter/recommendationsThe NICE guidance includes that communication with people with Parkinson's disease should aim towards empowering them to participate in judgements and choices about their own care, and individually tailored and consistent communication from the professionals involved.We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS and improve care for people with long-term conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to make it more accessible, proactive, and tailored for patients.

What steps he is taking to ensure that patients referred for a potential diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease are seen by a neurologist within 18 weeks.

The Government is committed to delivering the National Health Service constitutional standard for 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. This includes patients waiting for elective treatment on neurological pathways.We have taken our first step towards delivering this commitment goal by exceeding our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments in our first year in office, having now delivered over three million more appointments.The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard.The Getting It Right First Time programme, which provides tailored regional and national support to providers, also has a neurology specific Further Faster workstream. This is a clinically led initiative supporting peer to peer learning and improvement. A neurology 'handbook' and checklist with benchmarked data and case studies has been published and there are regular neurology online sessions for clinical and operational leads.